Cao Lanh, a cable-stayed bridge funded by the Government of Australia, is open to traffic in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap on May 27 (Photo: VNA) Dong Thap(VNA) – Cao Lanh, a cable-stayed bridge funded by the Government of Australia,was open to traffic in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap on May 27.
The bridge inauguration ceremony saw the presence of Deputy Prime MinisterTrinh Dinh Dung and Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop.
Addressing thefunction, Dung said Cao Lanh Bridge is of great significance to not only DongThap but also the entire Mekong Delta.
It will help improve the delta’s competitiveness and at the same time, usher inthe possibility to connect the Southwest of Vietnam with other countries in theregion, contributing to the local socio-economic development and theimprovement of local living standards, he added.
Dung mentioned the newbridge as the symbol of the friendship and strategic partnership betweenVietnam and Australia. It also proves Vietnam’s effective use of officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) of Australia, he added.
He moved on to ask theMinistry of Construction to effectively operate and maintain the bridge and theprovincial government to take good care of and create jobs for people affectedby the project.
Cao Lanh Bridge spans over the Tien River to connect the provincial capital of Cao Lanh and Lap Vo district (Photo: VNA) Cao Lanh Bridge spansover the Tien River to connect the provincial capital of Cao Lanh and Lap Vodistrict. The 2km-long bridge is about 0.8 km from the Cao Lanh ferry terminaland about 35 km from My Thuan Bridge, which links Tien Giang and Vinh Longprovinces.
The 24.5m wide bridgesits 37.5 m above the Tien River. It is designed to have four lanes formotorized vehicles to drive at the speed of up to 80km per hour and two othersfor non-motorised ones.
It is estimated that thebridge will help reduce the travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to the MekongDelta provinces of Dong Thap, An Giang and Kien Giang by 2 hours. Before thebridge was inaugurated, local people had to take ferry to cross the Tien River.
Cao Lanh Bridge has atotal investment of about 7.5 trillion VND (330 million USD), sourced fromAustralia’s non-refundable aid, the Asia Development Bank’s loan and Vietnam’s correspondingfund.
The construction ofthe bridge started in October 2013, under the contract between the project’sinvestor, the Cuu Long Traffic Infrastructure Investment, Development andManagement Corporation (the Ministry of Construction), and Chinese Road andBridge Corporation (CRBC) and the Vinaconex E&C.-VNA
VNA
